wfn.org | Delegates from Africa, Europe will address world drug crisis

[NewsDesk <NewsDesk@UMCOM.UMC.ORG>]

May 8, 2001 News media contact: Linda Bloom·(212) 870-3803·New York
10-21-31-71B{226}

By United Methodist News Service

Nearly 100 delegates from Africa and Europe will participate in a United
Methodist consultation on the global drug crisis May 27-June 4 in Evenes,
Norway.

Called "Hope for the World: Making a Christian Witness to Eliminate Alcohol,
Other Drugs and Related Violence," the event is sponsored by the United
Methodist Board of Global Ministries and organized by the denomination's
Special Program on Substance Abuse and Related Violence (SPSARV).

The consultation marks the first time that adult and youth leaders
representing churches in both Africa and Europe will gather to share their
experiences with ministries addressing substance abuse and related violence,
according to Melissa Davis, SPSARV director. A few U.S. delegates also will
participate. The event will be at Soltun Folkehogskole, a United Methodist
facility that provides educational experiences for young people.

Besides exchanging strategies to develop and strengthen drug abuse
ministries, participants will examine such issues as drug trafficking and
border control; global alcohol and tobacco marketing policies; the effect of
substance abuse on AIDS and other health problems; and the links among
substance abuse, personal strife and civil war. Delegates are expected to
develop action plans for local responses and a support network with United
Methodists from Europe and Africa.

United Methodist bishops scheduled to participate are Bishop Onema Fama,
Democratic Republic of Congo; Bishop Christopher Jokomo, Zimbabwe; Bishop
Felton May, Washington; and Bishop Oystein Olsen, Northern Europe.

SPSARV was created by the 1992 General Conference, the denomination's top
legislative body, and has become an ongoing church program. It began as an
outgrowth of the United Methodist Council of Bishops' Initiative on Drugs
and Drug Violence in 1989. 
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United Methodist News Service
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